“The UK government has announced that driverless cars will be allowed on public roads from January next year,” reports the BBC, adding, “It also invited cities to compete to host one of three trials of the tech, which would start at the same time.”

The story adds: “Business Secretary Vince Cable revealed the details of the new plan at a research facility belonging to Mira, an automotive engineering firm based in the Midlands. ‘Today’s announcement will see driverless cars take to our streets in less than six months, putting us at the forefront of this transformational technology and opening up new opportunities for our economy and society,’ he said.”

Other places that have approved testing driverless cars include California, Nevada and Florida in the U.S. and the city of Gothenburg in Sweden. Last year Nissan did some testing of driverless cars in Japan, the story adds.

The BBC article also notes: “The debate now is whether to allow cars, like the prototype unveiled by Google in May, to abandon controls including a steering wheel and pedals and rely on the vehicle’s computer. Or whether, instead, to allow the machine to drive, but insist a passenger be ready to wrest back control at a moment’s notice.”

Driverless Car Being Tested by Researchers
at Oxford University in the United Kingdom